Wallace Turnbull

Wallace Rupert Turnbull was a pioneer of aeronautical science who graduated from Cornell University and worked with Thomas Edison before establishing his private aerodynamic laboratory in Rothesay, New Brunswick. In 1902, Turnbull constructed the first wind tunnel in Canada to systematically investigate airfoil lift and drag ratios.

His crowning invention was the electrically controlled variable-pitch propeller, successfully flight-tested at Camp Borden in 1927. By allowing pilots to alter propeller blade pitch during flight—like shifting gears in an automobile—Turnbull's mechanism provided maximum thrust during takeoff and optimal efficiency during high-speed cruising, a development indispensable to modern aviation.